In a battle of freshmen quarterbacks Notre Dame’s defense provided a loud statement to the rest of the country that they’re ready to keep this momentum past the regular season and into the playoffs. Even with an uneven performance for the Irish offense the game at Pittsburgh was never close. Eight straight wins for Notre Dame with Senior Day coming up this weekend. Things are feeling good right now.
Here’s the review of the 37-15 win over Pittsburgh:
QUARTERBACK: C-
I gave Carr a D grade for his USC performance a few weeks ago and while this game against Pitt wasn’t quite that bad in some ways this felt more disappointing. While realizing we’ve raised the bar for competency for a redshirt freshman in a way that isn’t normal, I found Carr’s game really unimpressive. Obviously, two interceptions with a pick six (nearly two of them!) were pretty much the only way Pitt found itself even remotely competitive.
The completion to Fields down field was a highlight but that’s largely on the receiver!
That’s full extension!
Luckily, the offense didn’t need to do a ton to pull away in the game (this was the worst YPP for the offense since the opener at Miami). There was a lot of YAC for the receivers too, maybe I’m being too harsh but this was a very vanilla passing game for Notre Dame.
RUNNING BACK: B+
Obviously, we know the Heisman (especially for a running back) is built around memorable moments and highlight plays as much as winning and putting up gaudy stats. Jeremiyah Love delivering one of the touchdowns of the year with a brutally effective spin move maybe is just enough to get him to New York City in a few weeks.
No. 23 can show this to his kids and grandkids someday.
While both Love and Price had been neck and neck statistically this season, Love has not-so-quietly pulled away as we enter late November. Price was stuffed on 5 of his carries against Pitt and really didn’t get going on the ground–although his kick return complete with the stretched out undershirt and kicker holding on for dear life was pretty fun.
Love was stuffed 9 times as well (it’s not a great part of this offense) but he gave the Irish 4 out of their 5 explosive plays on the ground against the Panthers. Also, his 4th down run to the outside, to extend the first drive of the 2nd half and eventually a 28-3 lead, might’ve been the play of the day.
WIDE RECEIVER: B-
This was the game where I was convinced Malachi Fields can play in the NFL and should be at minimum a late round draft selection. There are questions about his ceiling at the next level which is fair. Making circus catches and touchdown catches while carrying the entire receiving corps while GameDay is in town are positives in Fields’ direction.
For further proof this was not a great passing performance from Carr there were only 26 combined yards from receivers not named Malachi Fields. Did Pitt make a point to try and take away Jordan Faison? They tried to get Pauling going early as well, and that wasn’t working either. Weird game for the receivers!
TIGHT END: B
Eli Raridon stay inbounds challenge: impossible.
This was the second most receptions in a game this season for Raridon which is good. However, Pitt was really weak defending tight ends this year, and while the Irish certainly tried, 67 yards on 10 attempts isn’t great. But it was more than that. Raridon couldn’t quite find the pylon on 3rd down and they tried a pretty difficult cross-field throw to him again on 4th down. He was also the target on Carr’s first interception.
Overall, decent production but a game where the Irish probably felt Raridon should’ve gone over 100 yards and scored his first touchdown of the season.
OFFENSIVE LINE: B
The offensive line did some good things and at least blocked well enough to get enough on the ground to make this game tilted in favor of the Irish. Pitt hasn’t allowed much on the ground this season and things were blocked well enough to gash them a few times. They only allowed one sack, although Carr was hit pretty hard a few times.
It was another game where no 3rd and shorts were converted on the ground. From the 3 conversions on 4th down, one came from the aforementioned Love scamper and the other 2 were late short throws by Carr.
DEFENSIVE LINE: A-
This was close to a generational butt whoopin’ that didn’t quite get there. But it was close! Pitt’s offense just never got comfortable and the true freshman Mason Heintschel often looked like an inexperienced signal caller unable to cope with the pressure he was facing. The defensive line was able to get consistent pressure (backed up by aggressive blitzing from the linebackers and secondary) and completely shut down the Pitt ground game, too.
In a big game like this, holding an opponent to zero 3rd down conversions is insane.
LINEBACKER: B+
I thought Notre Dame’s speed at linebacker was really noticeable and bothered Pitt’s offense in a way that wasn’t ever going allow them sustained success in this game. Blitzes were getting through to Heintschel to affect his pocket, and when the Panthers tried to loosen things up on the perimeter, it was getting chased down easily by the Irish.
I keep thinking about the facemask call early in the 2nd half on Ausberry. Does that light touch after the ball carrier has been wrapped up need to be called? It would’ve put Pitt in 3rd and very long instead of allowing them to continue their hopeless drive that ended with no points while burning over 6 minutes of game clock.
SECONDARY: A
A season high in both passes broken up (8) in combination with a season high in quarterback hurries (11) are nice little stats that back up this very dominant defensive performance. I’ll talk a little bit more about Heintschel below, but having him be this hyped up for this game only for him to look like hot garbage most of the time was fun from a Notre Dame perspective.
Class, please open your textbooks to page 43 for how to tackle a receiver in the open field after a catch.
The Tae Johnson pick six, Luke Talich doing some nice things, plus Adon Shuler picking off Heintschel for 2 points while also giving us one of the best hits of the season–great job secondary!
NOTES:
Pitt only had 3 offensive possessions in the 2nd half, largely due to a super long drive plus a CJ Carr pick six.
I need an explanation on why Notre Dame doesn’t try quarterback sneaks with CJ Carr. Has there been more than 2 or 3 this season? On that fateful 4th down play near the end of the 1st half I can live with a failed QB sneak or even a QB draw. That’s high percentage. Trying to throw a perfectly accurate ball across the field into a tight window is not high percentage. Also, if it’s a case of not wanting to get Carr banged up why did they run a QB draw later (for a touchdown yay!) in the game AND THEN design a quarterback keeper in the 4th quarter with the game out of hand when Kenny Minchey should’ve been playing anyway?
I made this gripe in a recent game review. Getting an inside look at the officiating process is brutal to watch. The insight into Pitt’s failed 4th down play late in the 3rd quarter was a joke. Some guy is trying to direct the process, can’t get the replay to do what he wants, and is trying to coach the on-field official through his thinking the entire time. It’s messy and convoluted. It’s a 10 second check that should be immediately communicated to the head referee and we move on. That’s all we need.
A yard short, this doesn’t need to be difficult.
I don’t think Pitt had much room to criticize but it would’ve been interesting to see if things got more competitive if the play above ended up being a touchdown. Slot in Carr’s pick six and the score would’ve been 30-16 with 16:33 minutes of game time to play.
That being said, Pitt had 86 total yards on 8 first half possessions. They turned it over on downs 3 times, missed a field goal, and did not look ready to win this game offensively. We’ll chalk that up to Notre Dame being physically superior but still, not a great day in the office for the Panthers coaching staff, I thought.
Okay, a quick look at Mason Heintschel then. As a true freshman he definitely shows flashes of big time potential and seems to have a lot of moxy and escapability in his game. If Pitt had started Holstein at quarterback they might’ve had negative yards. Still, some of the talk about Heintschel’s talent did seem a little overblown. He looks super raw still, and that’s okay he’s a true freshman. It’s funny because both quarterbacks had their struggles (although Carr’s weren’t nearly as bad obviously) and it’ll be interesting to see the comparisons between them in the next 12-24 months. Carr looks very much like the anti-Heintschel in that he’s calm, in control, efficient, and seems to thrive with controlling the game with his head as much as his arm. I can see a future where Heintschel has way more “wow” plays in college although in no way would I trade him for Carr.
If I were Heintschel I’d be listening to as many offers to transfer as possible. Let’s just be real.
I’ll also note on Shuler’s “Jacked up” moment I noticed Heintschel trying to draw a penalty on Burnham with this hilarious flop:
Great screen grabs.
Burnham entirely eases up as the play is blown dead, and Heintschel still tries to draw a flag!?? You’re trying to tackle a live ball carrier, why would anyone throw a flag because you fell down!?? The best part of this sequence is Traore spotting it immediately, and pointing at him. Sometimes bullying is needed in this world.
I know it’s not lost in the shuffle, we still have a full blown field goal crisis going on at Notre Dame. This was the 4th straight game without making a field goal. Only Georgia State (4) and Louisiana-Monroe (2) have made fewer field goals in 2025 than Notre Dame. It sucks, but we’ll probably lose in the playoffs because of this, and well, that whole 3rd and short thing that only exacerbates the issue.
Speaking of that, Mike Denbrock, can we please use the next 2 games as an experiment to try and unveil some diverse and maybe even tricky run plays on short yardage situations?? Notre Dame has converted just 9 opportunities on 3rd and short this season (from 23 attempts) when running the ball. We should be favored by a combined 50 points over these next two games, use it as an opportunity to work on some things. This offense is good! But it needs to be better at this crucial spot when the team literally cannot rely on 3 points from the field goal kicker.
My theory: Carr is not good at QB sneaks. The 3 times we’ve seen it, he’s probably averaged a half yard. I’d also like to add this game suggests he struggles with backside pressure.
Completely agree on Carr’s positives. Both QBs looked like freshmen at times, but Carr does many things very well. That free play TD pass was a thing of beauty. Calm, decisive, great throw, and a perfect catch.
Finally, I thought his second pick was on the play caller, plus just a tremendous play by the defender.
Totally agree with last paragraph. That play call was telegraphed from the jump. I’m not totally sure why ‘chuck it up to Fields’ isn’t something we permit ourselves to do ever unless it’s a free play. Not saying every possession, but once a half maybe give it a shot?
Absolutely agree on the second pick – that play needs to be tossed in the trash can. There was almost a disastrous one last week too, and of course there was the brutal pick against Miami on it. We’re far too predictable with it and everybody jumps it. The only thing I can think of is maybe Denbrock is setting up a pump-and-go for the playoffs, but even so, enough dude. It’s not working.
Also if Carr had gained half a yard on a sneak in that 4th and goal he would’ve scored. Our dogged determination to use convoluted methods to gain six inches is seriously annoying. I just can’t believe we’re so bad at running a sneak that it can’t be used there. And even at that, you have a sprint out with a difficult throw into a tight window? Less than ideal.
Second thought on the sneaks… I wonder if Minchey is better at them. Even if it telegraphs it, who cares? Everybody knew what we were doing last year when Leonard came under center and we still got 2+ yards every time.
Minchey or even Buchner. Someone with elusiveness that can read the DE.
Or Raridon on a sneak
Watch what Ole Miss did vs. UF. 3:48 in video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CTL2jmNcpY&pp=ygUTb2xlIG1pc3MgdnMgZmxvcmlkYQ%3D%3D
This not bad either.
Yeah, saw them do that more than once. For us it would be direct snap to Love with Washington, Black, and Terek as fullbacks?
Raridon on a sneak? Could be brilliant. He’s already in the game; he comes in motion, CJ back in the gun, so the defense knowing we don’t sneak, thinks we’re trying to go wide or whatever weakass shit we’ve been doing all year. Then Eli stops his lateral motion behind the center, and goes under center, and runs the sneak. Rare that I think a play might be needful to suggest to the coaches, but… I think I really like this
He’d most likely go out of bounds.
Ho ho. Hey, he’s a big tall guy, that tight rope balancing act must be harder for him!
He didn’t seem to know where he was. One time ok, multiple times, yikes.
Josh Burnham played QB in HS.
1500 yards rushing with 29 TD’s as a senior
Not bad on Josh. But try this out, everyone:
Using Eli Raidon for the QB sneak, with his height, power, and ball skills. For this play, his absence of spatial awareness when on the sideline won’t matter 🙂 But, here’s a twist. If it’s Eli, then you can set it up with CJ in the gun, just like we’ve been doing, showing our same lack of faith in a straightahead push, and forcing the opponent to play our pass to the flat, blah blah –and this reinforced by Eli coming in motion to the middle. But instead of continuing, he stops when behind the center, goes under center, and sneaks. Heck, CJ and especially J-love can come up behind and push (it’s legal!)
I forgot to mention, not a fan of that play call right before the half where Carr got rocked. But also really strange on how the announcers were hammering the point that the ball was loose and insinuating it was Pitt’s football without ever showing Pitt recovered. Very odd stuff all around.
I noticed that too. Also there were a lack of replays on some penalties too. Mostly late in the game. Maybe the TV crew lost their focus with the game decided.
That was happening throughout the game. The first two penalties weren’t replayed either.
I’m in total agreement on short yardage 3rd down plays in the next two games. It has to be fixed. Talent? Injuries? Not to the degree ND sucks at it. And yes, some of the play calling has been illogical.
Carr seems to make god awful decisions on occasions, that go against everything else he does at a high level. One thing for sure is he doesn’t like to throw the ball away.
So, the discussion on the over turned Pitt TD was that because the WR did not have control of the ball until he was in the end zone it didn’t matter that his knee was down. I would agree that he didn’t have control of the ball until he was in the end zone and the ball didn’t hit the ground. I don’t know what the rule is on that. ???
I don’t think I’ve seen a player more repeatedly unaware of the sideline than Raridon yesterday… Also, much like Heintschel, many times this year(Boise St,), it has seemed players were trying to draw penalties for late or sideline hits.
First, what’s meant to be a VOG (Very Old Guy) compliment — I find myself looking forward to these reviews on Sunday, like when I was a kid on Sunday those summaries of ND games were on our (B&W 12 inch) TV — “and now we move to further action” would say Lindsay Nelson.
Love the previews and the Instant Reactions as well, and I’m getting the hang of the Discord dialogue.
To the two issues that will keep us from success in the CFP assuming we get in:
(1) Short yardage. I rewatched CJ’s QB sneak several times when we were on our own one foot line. Very little O-Line push but there was a little. At least he handled the snap under center OK (first one all year?) but he himself added nothing to the play. So maybe it just isn’t his thing and the coaches know this. Though his designed runs have mostly been pretty good. So yeah, for our egregious short yardage problems, it seems time for Denbrock and the assistants to earn their copious paychecks (despite having the backup OL).
(2) Field goals. This is seriously a crazy issue to have. Unfortunately I have seen it once before, back in 1965, Ara’s second year (where extra points were a big challenge, with at the same time a QB who could maybe physically throw 20 yards max). At this stage, the only thing I can think of is that the next two games allow further work. But hard to figure that out…
In regards to the field goals, they have to either work on getting the starter healthy, or they have to work on building the freshman’s confidence up and keep him to attempts that are under 40 yards (for now at least). Build up his confidence with extra points and 30 yard fg’s these next couple of games
I can’t recall watching another Notre Dame player deliver such massive (and legal) hits that I involuntarily yell “oh my god”, but Shuler has at least three of those in his career.